FDA OKs new drug to treat all forms of hepatitis C

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U.S. regulators have approved another drug to treat all forms of hepatitis C that works in as little as eight weeks.

AbbVie's drug, Mavyret (mav-EH'-rit), was approved Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration for patients without significant cirrhosis who haven't been treated previously for the liver-destroying virus, plus those with a form of hepatitis who were not cured by a prior treatment.

Mavyret joins two other AbbVie hepatitis C drugs, one from Merck and several from Gilead on the market.

The list price without insurance will range from $26,400 for eight weeks' treatment to $52,800 for 16 weeks' treatment.

Hepatitis C affects at least 2.7 million people in U.S. The virus develops slowly over decades and many people don't realize they are infected until signs of liver damage emerge.